climate Archives - Disasters News

Feb152025 by Editor DeskNo Comments

World Sets Record January Heat Despite La Nina Scientists Debate Accelerating Global Warming

The world warmed to a new monthly heat record this January, despite cooling factors like a La Nina event and an abnormally chilly United States, according to the European climate service Copernicus. This surprising temperature rise is sparking debate among scientists, with some arguing that global warming is accelerating. Copernicus reported that January 2025 was 0.09 degrees Celsius warmer than January 2024, the previous hottest January on record. It was also 1.75 degrees Celsius warmer than pre-industrial levels. This marks the 18th month out of the last 19 in which the world hit or surpassed the 1.5-degree warming threshold set by the Paris Agreement. However, scientists only consider the threshold breached when temperatures stay above it for 20 consecutive years. Copernicus has t...

Feb72025 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Public Investment in Climate Finance & Care Services Essential for Adaptation

Breaking News, Climate Actions, Fact Check

Climate finance plays a crucial role in addressing climate change, but one often-overlooked sector is care services the work of caring for people, both paid and unpaid, largely performed by women. As climate change intensifies, caregiving demands rise, yet infrastructure and resources remain inadequate. Why Care Services Matter in Climate Adaptation Extreme heat, floods, wildfires, and storms disproportionately impact vulnerable groups like young children and the elderly, increasing the need for healthcare, childcare, and elder care. However, most disaster preparedness plans fail to prioritize care services, leaving caregivers especially in urban informal settlements struggling with limited access to clean water, energy, and healthcare. Despite the growing urgency, climate finance...

Feb62025 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Severe Water Shortages in 2024 Spark Warnings for Future Drought Preparedness

Breaking News, Climate Actions, Disasters, Environment

The U.S. Northeast, long considered safe from severe water shortages, faced an unprecedented drought in the second half of 2024, forcing major cities to impose water restrictions and raising alarms about the region’s preparedness for future crises. After a summer of record-breaking heat and minimal rainfall, states like New York, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania saw reservoirs drop to critical levels. Residents in New York City and Boston were urged to conserve water, while Philadelphia struggled with saltwater intrusion into its drinking supply as the Delaware River’s flow weakened. Wildfires, once rare in the region, erupted across parched landscapes, further underscoring the severity of the drought. Experts warn that this crisis is not an isolated event. As global temperatures rise...

Feb52025 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Jujube Trees Offer Hope Amid Conflict and Climate Struggles in Afghanistan

Breaking News, Climate Actions, Fact Check

In Afghanistan’s war-torn Nangarhar province, a simple but powerful solution is transforming lives: the jujube tree. As conflict, poverty, and climate change converge, afforestation efforts are providing both environmental protection and economic opportunities for displaced communities. Nestled along the Pakistan border, Nangarhar has long been a hotspot for violence and migration. Thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and returnees struggle with poverty, lack of resources, and increasingly extreme weather. Flash floods regularly devastate homes and farmland. “Every year, the floods come, destroying everything,” says Abdul Aziz, a resident of the Samar Khail Araban camp. Seeking a solution, local communities turned to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Th...

Jan252025 by Editor DeskNo Comments

242M Students Disrupted by Climate Hazards in 2024: UNICEF Report

Breaking News, Climate Actions, Environment

At least 242 million students across 85 countries experienced significant disruptions in their education due to extreme climate events in 2024, according to a new UNICEF report titled Learning Interrupted: Global Snapshot of Climate-Related School Disruptions in 2024. Released on International Day of Education, the report underscores the growing impact of heatwaves, floods, tropical cyclones, and droughts on education, worsening an already critical global learning crisis. Heatwaves were the leading cause of school closures, affecting over 118 million students in April alone. Countries like Bangladesh and the Philippines witnessed widespread school shutdowns, while Cambodia shortened school days due to scorching temperatures. In parts of South Asia, temperatures reached a staggering 47°C...

Jan132025 by Editor DeskNo Comments

2025 NDC Update: Bridging Adaptation Plans with Paris Agreement Goals

Breaking News, Climate Actions, Fact Check

As the 2025 update to nationally determined contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement approaches, a new briefing highlights the opportunity for countries to align their NDCs with their national adaptation plans (NAPs). The review assesses how adaptation-related information presented in these key documents can be better integrated, offering a roadmap for policymakers to strengthen climate action. This briefing is particularly aimed at national policymakers and NAP teams responsible for adaptation planning and implementation. It underscores the critical role of the 2025 NDC update in enhancing the coherence between the NAP process and NDC commitments, ensuring that adaptation measures are effectively mainstreamed into national climate strategies. By synthesizing insights from coun...

Jan112025 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Hydroclimate Whiplash Intensifies Amid Global Warming, Researchers Warn

Breaking News, Climate Actions, Disasters, Environment

Rapid swings between extreme wet and dry weather known as hydroclimate whiplash are accelerating globally due to climate change, with further escalation expected as temperatures rise, according to a study led by UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain. The study, published in Nature Reviews, highlights the role of the "expanding atmospheric sponge," a phenomenon where the atmosphere absorbs, evaporates, and releases 7% more water for every degree Celsius of global warming. This process intensifies the swings between droughts and floods, posing new challenges for water and disaster management. California offers a vivid illustration of hydroclimate whiplash. Following years of drought, the state experienced record-breaking precipitation during the winters of 2022-23, triggering floods, sno...

Jan32025 by Editor DeskNo Comments

How Developing Nations Can Bridge the Climate Finance Gap

Breaking News, Climate Actions, Idea & Innovations

As climate change accelerates, the urgency to address its impacts grows, particularly for the world's most vulnerable nations. Yet, the conclusion of COP29 highlights a stark reality: the gap between climate finance needs and actual funding remains vast. Developing nations face the daunting challenge of mobilizing resources to adapt to and mitigate the climate crisis while grappling with stretched public budgets and limited international support. The Global Finance Dilemma Emerging economies require an estimated $1.3 trillion annually to combat the escalating climate crisis. However, developed nations have pledged only $300 billion per year by 2035—a figure that falls significantly short and is expected to lose real value due to inflation. By 2035, this amount may shrink to an equiva...

Dec182024 by Editor DeskNo Comments

World Largest One Trillion Iceberg Melt Down After Decades of Stillness

Breaking News, Climate Actions, Disasters, Environment

The world’s largest and oldest iceberg, A23a, has broken free after decades of being grounded on the seabed near Antarctica. This colossal "mega-berg," weighing over a trillion tonnes and spanning an area twice the size of Greater London, is now drifting into the Southern Ocean. A23a was calved from Antarctica’s Filchner Ice Shelf in 1986, marking the beginning of its extraordinary journey. For over 30 years, it remained grounded on the seabed of the Weddell Sea. In 2020, it began to shift northward, but its progress was slowed by a Taylor Column, an oceanographic phenomenon that kept it spinning in one spot for months. Dr. Andrew Meijers, an oceanographer at the British Antarctic Survey, remarked, “It’s exciting to see A23a on the move again after periods of being stuck. We are curi...

Dec132024 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Delhi Experiences Coldest December Day in Three Years at 4.5°C

Breaking News, Climate Actions, Environment

Thursday marked Delhi's coldest December day in three years as the minimum temperature plummeted to 4.5°C, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). Cold wave conditions gripped the city, with temperatures in the Pusa and Ayangar areas dropping even further to 3.2°C and 3.8°C, respectively. The IMD defines a cold wave as temperatures below 4.1°C or a deviation of over 4.4°C below normal. Thursday's 4.5°C minimum was 0.4°C below the average, and significantly lower than the 5°C recorded the previous day. December temperatures hadn’t dipped below 4.9°C in 2022 or 2023, with the lowest in December 2023 being 4.9°C and 5°C in December 2022. The IMD forecasts further cold wave conditions for Delhi on Friday, with the minimum temperature expected to hover around 4°C. Clear sk...